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Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries is a deliciously sweet breakfast or brunch recipe. Light, fluffy mascarpone frosting is sandwiched between thick, custardy bread with fresh strawberries and is the perfect weekend indulgence.
French toast is one of our family's favorite breakfast treats. My classic Brown Sugar Cinnamon French Toast recipe is a Saturday morning staple and my family loves it when I make Overnight Blueberry French Toast during the holidays.
This restaurant-style Stuffed French Toast Recipe is one I started making recently and we are obsessed with it! It's an easy recipe to customize with your favorite fruits and fillings, PLUS it makes an extra special breakfast in bed for Mother's Day. (Hint, hint!)
Jump to:
- ❤️ Why you will love this stuffed French toast recipe
- 🍞 Ingredient notes
- Chef's Secret
- 📋 Substitutions and variations
- 📋 How to serve stuffed french toast with mascarpone
- 🔪 Step by step instructions
- ⭐ Expert tips
- My Favorite Electric Griddle
- 💭 Frequently asked questions
- ⏲️ Make ahead instructions
- 🥡 Storage and reheating suggestions
- 🍳 More breakfast recipes
- #ScarlatiFamilyKitchen
- Recipe
- Comments
❤️ Why you will love this stuffed French toast recipe
- Unique - It puts a unique twist on the diner classic with fluffy whipped mascarpone frosting.
- Not Too Sweet - I'm not a huge fan of overly sweet breakfast recipes, so I LOVE this recipe. The frosting in the stuffing is slightly sweet and so it perfectly pairs with the fresh, tart strawberries.
- Special - This isn't just your standard french toast and while there are a few extra steps, this easy recipe still makes the BEST special breakfast for the ones you love.
🍞 Ingredient notes
- Bread - Italian bread, French bread, or Texas toast are all types of bread that are perfect for French toast. For a sweeter version, use brioche or challah bread instead.
- Filling - The frosting for the filling literally takes just 5 minutes to make and creates a fluffy, creamy center in the French toast. WARNING: It's extremely delicious, so try not to eat it all before making the French toast!
- Egg Mixture - The custard mixture is made with eggs and whole milk. For a heavier custard, use Half and half or heavy cream.
Chef's Secret
Stale thick-cut bread makes the BEST French toast. The dry texture of the bread allows it to soak up the egg mixture and the thick slices will make sure they don't fall apart. Slice a loaf of bread and leave it out to dry overnight or toast the slices on a sheet pan for a few minutes in the oven.
📋 Substitutions and variations
- Cheese - Mascarpone is a creamy Italian cheese that is similar to cream cheese. It has a less tangy and more buttery flavor and texture. You can substitute it with cream cheese or ricotta cheese if you can't find mascarpone or if you want a different flavor. Substitute the mascarpone frosting all together with Nutella for an even MORE indulgent version.
- Fruit - Substitute the strawberries with different fruit, like raspberries, blueberries, cherries, peaches, or your favorite fruit jam.
- Gluten-Free - Make sure to pick a sturdy, thick-sliced gluten-free bread to make this recipe gluten-free.
📋 How to serve stuffed french toast with mascarpone
Even though this French toast is perfect without any toppings. Here are a few. you can serve with it, to make it EXTRA special.
- Powdered Sugar
- Cinnamon Sugar
- Berry Syrup or other Flavored Syrup
- Butter and Maple Syrup
- Nutella or Chocolate Syrup
- Fresh Berries
- More Mascarpone Frosting
- Whipped Cream
🔪 Step by step instructions
First, make the whipped mascarpone by mixing the mascarpone with the almond extract and salt. Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and then pour in the heavy cream. Whip the mixture for 2 minutes until you have stiff peaks.
Spread 2-3 Tablespoons of the frosting on one side of 6 of the bread slices. Add sliced strawberries on top of the frosting and then sandwich the remaining slices on top to make 6 total sandwiches.
Whisk the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a shallow dish or bowl. Dip the sandwiches in the egg mixture so the bread soaks it up on all sides.
Place the dipped sandwiches on a preheated and lightly greased electric griddle. Let the French toast cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
Flip the French toast over and let them cook for 1-2 minutes, until golden brown on the other side.
Serve the French toast warm with your favorite toppings like, extra mascarpone frosting, sliced strawberries, powdered sugar, or also maple syrup.
If you ever don't recognize a tool or skill that is mentioned, be sure to look it up in our Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information.
⭐ Expert tips
- Bring your mascarpone cheese to room temperature before making the frosting so it easily mixes with the other ingredients.
- Be careful not to overfill the sandwiches and leave some room around the edges. Depending on the size of the pieces of bread, about 2-3 Tablespoons should be perfect. If they are overfilled, the filling will ooze out the sides during cooking.
- Don't soak the bread in the egg mixture too long. You want it to soak into the bread, but not get too soggy. Let any excess egg mixture drip off the bread before cooking it or the egg coating will be too heavy.
My Favorite Electric Griddle
This is the electric griddle that I use in my kitchen. It's great for cooking your French toast, bacon, or grilled cheeses all at the same time!
💭 Frequently asked questions
To make sure the inside of French toast isn't soggy, don't let the bread soak too long in the egg mixture, and let any excess egg drip off before cooking it. Stale, thick-cut bread will also make sure it absorbs the custard, while still holding up and not getting soggy.
You can keep French toast warm after cooking it by placing it on a lined sheet pan in the oven on your "warm" setting or the lowest temperature available.
You don't need an electric griddle to make French toast. Use a cast iron skillet, griddle pan, or your favorite non-stick skillet to cook it instead. The electric griddle is nice because it allows you to cook all the pieces at the same time. This especially comes in handy if you are making a lot of French toast!
⏲️ Make ahead instructions
- The French toast can be stuffed with mascarpone frosting and strawberries a couple hours ahead of time. Store it on a sheet pan, wrapped in the plastic wrap in the refrigerator. Follow the remaining instructions for dipping and cooking it as directed. I don't recommend doing this too early or the inside will get soggy.
- You can also make the stuffed French toast, cool it completely, and store it in the refrigerator up to 24 hours ahead of time. Store it on a lined sheet pan, wrapped in plastic wrap. Then, at serving time, remove the plastic wrap and reheat it in the oven.
🥡 Storage and reheating suggestions
- Fridge - Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.
- Freezer - Freeze stuffed French toast on a lined sheet pan and then transfer to a freezer bag for up to 2 months. French toast can be reheated from frozen, but will take a bit longer to cook. Also, the texture of the filling after freezing and thawing will not be as creamy.
- Reheat - Leftovers can be reheated in the microwave or oven until heated through.
🍳 More breakfast recipes
If you loved this Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries, then check out these other breakfast recipes that I know you will love too!
Recipe
Mascarpone Stuffed French Toast with Strawberries
Ingredients
Whipped Mascarpone Frosting
- 4 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon almond extract
- pinch fine sea salt
- ⅓ cup powdered sugar
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Assembly
- 12 pieces Italian bread, thickly sliced and stale
- 6-8 medium strawberries, sliced (plus extra for serving)
Egg Mixture
- 4 large eggs
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
Instructions
- Preheat an electric griddle to 325˚ or a large non-stick skillet over medium-low heat.
- Combine the mascarpone cheese, almond extract, and sea salt in a medium bowl. Mix on low speed with an electric hand mixer for 1 minute until fluffy. (4 ounces mascarpone cheese, ¼ teaspoon almond extract, pinch fine sea salt)
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar on low speed, mixing until it is completely incorporated. (⅓ cup powdered sugar)
- Slowly pour in the heavy cream at low speed. Gradually increase the speed to medium and whip until it becomes thicker with soft peaks. Increase the speed to high and whip for 2 minutes. The frosting should be very fluffy with stiff peaks. (½ cup heavy whipping cream)
- Spread six of the slices of bread with 2-3 Tablespoons of the mascarpone frosting leaving a little bit of room around the edges of the bread. (12 pieces Italian bread)
- Add sliced strawberries to the top of the frosting and top with the remaining slices of bread so there are 6 total sandwiches. (6-8 medium strawberries)
- Lightly grease the preheated griddle or skillet with butter or baking spray.
- In a shallow dish or bowl, combine the eggs, milk, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt for the egg mixture. Whisk together until the eggs are completely broken up and everything is combined. (4 large eggs, ⅔ cup whole milk, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon fine sea salt)
- Dip each of the sandwiches into the egg mixture, letting the bread soak it up on all sides.
- Place the dipped french toast on the greased griddle and let it cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Flip and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes until golden brown as well.
- Serve the French toast warm, with remaining mascarpone frosting and other desired toppings. (See suggestions below)
Notes
- Bread - Italian bread, french bread, or texas toast can all be used. Challah and brioche will make a sweeter stuffed french toast. Gluten-free bread can be substituted as well. Stale thick cut bread will make the best texture. Leave the bread out overnight or lightly toast in the oven for a few minutes.
- Filling - Cream cheese or ricotta cheese can be substituted for the mascarpone. Strawberries can be substituted for other berries, peaches, cherries, or jam. Nutella can be substituted for the mascarpone frosting as well.
- Egg Mixture - Substitute milk for heavy cream or half and half for more richer egg coating to the french toast.
- Toppings - Powdered sugar, cinnamon sugar, berry syrup, maple syrup, butter, nutella, chocolate syrup, fresh berries, whipped cream.
- Make Ahead (uncooked) - Stuff bread with frosting and strawberries and store on a sheet pan wrapped in plastic wrap up to 2 hours ahead of time. Follow the remaining directions for dipping in the egg mixture and cooking.
- Make Ahead (cooked) - Fully prepare the stuffed french toast and cool it on a sheet pan in the refrigerator. Wrap in plastic wrap and store up to 24 hours ahead of time in the refrigerator or freeze on a lined sheet pan and then transfer to a ziptop bag to store for up to 2 months in the freezer. Refrigerated or frozen french toast can be reheated in a 325˚ on a lined baking sheet. Frozen will take a bit longer to warm up and the filling will not be as creamy.
- Leftovers - Keep in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. Reheat in the microwave or the oven.
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